Step UP! IU trains students in intervention

It’s Friday night, and a student takes his 12th shot of vodka.

It’s been a long night. He waves to his friends, grabs a final beer and heads toward his car.         

He is surrounded by people, but no one takes away his keys.

This is just one of several dangerous scenarios that Step UP! IU aims to prevent, according to junior and Culture of Care co-chair Rachel Green.

“The goal is to encourage Hoosiers to have the courage to care, and the courage to intervene on behalf of a friend or stranger,” Green said.

Step UP!, part of IU’s Culture of Care program, is an organization that promotes student-to-student aid in the areas of alcohol abuse, drug use, mental health awareness, sexual well-being and respect.

Last school year, IU officially implemented Step UP!’s bystander intervention training.
Each intervention training session is 90 minutes long and uses real-life scenarios to teach intervention strategies, according to the Culture of Care website.

Step UP! has trained 1,600 students from campus organizations, residence halls, fraternities, sororities and academic classes.

“Participants were engaged with the material, and it struck a chord,” said Andy Braden, sophomore and Culture of Care co-chair.

“These are issues and situations we witness every day, and most of us want to do something to help. However, for various reasons, we question ourselves.”

Students cited drinking as the most prominent issue on IU’s campus in the 2011 campus-wide survey to define issues for the program to address.

“We talk about why they see drinking more often than other issues,” said Leslie Fasone, doctoral student and program coordinator.

“Maybe it’s because they’re behind closed doors, and it’s harder to identify the red flags.”

Fasone said tragic deaths like Rachel Fiege’s send a strong message about the importance of calling 911 when someone hits their head or is showing signs of alcohol poisoning.

“I do know Step UP! has been formed out of a number of set incidents that we’ve dealt with over the years,” Fasone said. “One of the things we’ve realized is that, in those situations, could someone have intervened?”

After the training, 91.1 percent of participants said they could successfully intervene in a situation that may be harmful to themselves and others, according to a survey issued after the course.

“Given the numbers of students who have expressed concern about issues on campus, and the numbers of students indicating that many of these issues could be eliminated or alleviated if someone would have intervened, it is vital that students participate in the Step UP! training program,” Green said.

“Without it, the bystander effect is overwhelmingly powerful on our campus and in our society.”

Green said Culture of Care organized a #spreadthelove campaign for next week to bring some positivity to students on Valentine’s Day.

Representatives will be located around campus handing out treats to students who tweet nice things about themselves or others with the hashtag.

“I think more people might be calling for help than in the past,” Fasone said. “I can’t say that its definite. But anecdotally, I’ve heard that they’ve reached out more for help, and I think that’s a good thing. The idea of students helping students is catching on, it’s definitely catching on.”

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Dani Castonzo on Twitter
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